This past weekend, thanks to fellow stalker Owen, I was able to stalk the home used in one of my favorite ’80s TV shows – The Golden Girls. Being that I was only eight years old at the time The Golden Girls premiered, I probably seem like a very unlikely fan of the show. But, for some reason, a sit-com which centered around the trials and tribulations of four single senior citizens living together in a Miami area home appealed to me. What can I say – I absolutely loved it!
But besides being a fabulous show, The Golden Girls also had, hands down, the BEST television theme song ever! 🙂 “Thank you for being a friend! Travel down the road and back again. Your heart is true, you’re a pal and a confidant.” Sing it with me, now! “And if you threw a party, invited everyone you knew, you would see the biggest gift would be from me and the card attached would say, thank you for being a friend!” LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!
I am happy to report that The Golden Girls house looks EXACTLY the same today – and I mean EXACTLY the same – as it did when the show first premiered in 1985. It is absolutely unbelievable to me that the home has remained unchanged in a whopping twenty-four years time. LOVE IT! I’d like to go on record right now and thank the owners of this house for letting this piece of television history remain untouched for all of us stalkers to appreciate years later. Why can’t more filming location owners be like you????? LOL
What’s even more amazing to me is how iconic The Golden Girls house truly is. Even my fiance recognized it, and he recognizes virtually NOTHING. In fact, I think I can safely say that in all the years we’ve dated (eight and half, but who’s counting?), he has never once recognized a location that I’ve dragged him to – ever! Until this past weekend, that is. 🙂 Even though The Golden Girls house is extremely non-descript, for some reason a picture of it is imbedded in my brain, almost more so than any other TV home – except, of course, for the 90210 house! 🙂
A big THANK YOU to Owen for finding this location after hearing numerous rumors about its wherabouts – rumors like the house was actually located in Florida or Pacific Palisades or that it only ever existed on a studio backlot. He ended up finding the house several years ago on a German website that had a map of Los Angeles with the general vicinity of the GG home earmarked. Once he had the general area locked down – even if it was in German 🙂 – it didn’t take him long to find the home’s exact address and put to rest all of those pesky location rumors. The real story of the Golden Girls home is this: During the first seasons of the show, a Brentwood area house was used for all of the establishing shots of the ladies’ Miami area residence. Then in 1988, a replica of that home was built on the backlot of Disney MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida, and that replica was used for the exterior house shots for the remainder of the series – which seems odd to me being that the show was actually taped right here in Los Angeles. Anyway, you can see a photograph of the replica home here. Sadly, in 2003 the replica was torn down, along with the rest of Residential Street, in order to make room for a new stunt show called “Lights! Motors! Action!” To quote Chelsea Lately,”I don’t like that! I don’t like that at all!” At least the real house is still standing, though!
And if you are a big fan of the GG house, or just the show in general, I definitely recommend checking out this girl’s website. And people say I have way too much time on my hands! 🙂
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: The Golden Girls house is located at 245 North Saltair Avenue in Brentwood.
This is on my bucket list then next time I go to Cali. I wish I would have known that last time I was there =( The million dollar question that everyone I’m sure is wondering…what does it look like inside???? lol. That would be cool if the owners supported us Golden Girls Fans and post a few pictures lol! How cool would it be to say you live in that house =)
That’s so true that’s really the million dollar question cause I been looking and the internet for the inside and the back yard
Wow, I didn’t know there was a real house, I’d seen the one at MGM and thought that was it! I love the show and have watched the reruns too too many times. I’d love to know how the house is actually laid out. As an Architect one of my biggest pet peeves is when the exterior shot of the house doesn’t match the set. The entry from the garage to the kitchen never made sense and they changed the locations of the bedrooms between seasons. Am I the only one that thinks about things like this??
No – I definitely think about things like that, too! 🙂
Me too! Their patio (which they call a linai (sic)) is not in the right place. Their garage is in the space that the bedrooms are located in. And, they establish in the beginning episodes which bedroom belongs to which woman but throughout the series the women are constantly walking into different rooms. For instance, Rose’s room is on the left but in the episode where Sunshine Cadet “Daisy” holds Rose’s Teddy bear for ransome, Rose walks into the bathroom (which is where. they claim the garage is) and exclaims that her Teddy “Fernando” is missing off her bed.
Thank you so much for this great article regarding the GG house! I have tried looking for details on the net regarding the house for years – with little success. This is BY FAR the best source of info out there.
It truly was an amazing house which has left a big impression on a lot of people. It’s not just the great exterior but also the interior set which they designed to match it (so credit should go to the producers, art director and set designer!). That lanai they had with the great backdrop painting was awesome. It really evoked this sense of a Miami lifestyle. It might have all been fake but we all still loved it!
Also a big thanks to Gino De Young for providing that great explanation of why they built the replica on the backlot – makes a lot of sense!
You’re welcome Steve! I was lucky enough to work for Walt Disney Imagineering at the time, and work on the opening of the Studio – so I was able to see it before the Studio itself opened in Florida and get out and walk around it 🙂
Like 90% of all TV shows, also this one was shot entirely in Los Angeles.
Thats is great. One of my dreams is to get to see it.
Being in Brazil all I got are all the dvds and their pictures autographed.
:)))
Thank you for this shot. We all love the GG even today. I have all 7 season on disc. If you ever havea bad day at work. just watch the GG. And have cheese cake.
This is so cool to know. I wonder if anyone has ever had the guts to knock on the door and talk to however, lives inside. If so, it would be interesting to hear your story.
I’ve loved the GG since the begining, but was un able to watch, all the time, as work and young kids probihibited that. I saw the model of it in Fla. and was dissapointed it was only a shell. I’ve always been curious, and still am, regarding the interior. Is there any way to see the interior, of the set ?? Does the real owner of the house still live there?? Now, that i’m older and not working and kids all have families of their own, I watch all the time…..rerun after rerun, sometimes I’ll see a new one, I feel like they’re my friends , how sad is that……lolololol………….
I love this house!!! My parents got to see the replica in FL before they tore it down…to bad they tore it down! I would love to go see the real one, one of these days!!! I absolutely love this show…I was only 5 when it started…I remember thinking Sophia was so funny, still do! I love them all though. I watch the reruns religously everynight! So sad that 2 of them are gone 🙁 Thanks so much for posting these pics, they are awesome!!
I have every intention, if I can ever save the money or win the lottery, of having the house built just as it appears inside and out from the show! That is my dream to wake up every day and walk into that exact kitchen/living room!!
could you finde the house from money pit ?
One of my favs!
The Florida house was built as part of Disney MGM Studios to provide more visuals along the backlot tram tour, which opened in 1989. They reshot all of the exteriors in order for the tour guides to be able to say that the house to the left is the exterior set for GG, pretty much leaving the impression that was the house used originally.
Thanks for your post – I’ve always checked out if anyone had found the GG house address but it’s been pretty elusive. I’ll go this weekend!
I always thought it was in FL.
Question: I know the exterior is the same as the real home, but was the interior on the sitcom the same asthe real home, or do we know?
Thank you so much for finding this. I have enjoyed GG since I was a child also, and even more so today at 32 years old. I find a new generation of kids are now watching. Kuddos!!!
I have ALWAYS loved this house! In fact, there’s a house right up the road from me that I am convinced, was based off this one! And I am in New England! Some day I’ll take pictures of it to show you the similarities. But truth be said if I could ever afford it, I’d build a house just like the GGs in Orlando, FL(but a smaller version for one bedroom and one office as well as the usual rooms they had in their house). You just can’t match the architecture or landscape that house had. Was awesome then, and it still is today!
Like Amanda, I was at the Universal Studios backlot in Florida in 1999 and distinctly remember seeing the Golden Girls house. The tour guide said exterior shots of the house were used for the show.
Well, the replica house was actually used for exterior shots of the show, from Season 2 onward. During Season 1, the real Brentwood area home was used, but after the replica house was built at Disney MGM Studios in Florida, producers instead used it for the remainder of the series. So, the tour guide wasn’t wrong, per se, she just didn’t tell you the full story.
You’re being remiss in not mentioning Andrew Gold’s original hit version of “Thank You For Being a Friend” which ruled the charts back in 1978…
Wow, I had no idea it was a real song! No wonder it was so good! 🙂
i saw the replica in Florida…back in 1999….I would have never thought there was an actual house! The person on the backlot tour said it was filmed there!!!! …shows what they know!
hey lindsey its your friend from NC omg i am also a huge fan of the GG thank goodness for lifetime putting it in syndication. They just don’t make great TV shows like this anymore (except of course for the hills)!! Thanks for stalking this rest in peace Bea Arthur. I must say that I really look forward to coming home from work and looking at your posts keep up the great work
Your NC friend,
April